A Trail of Ashes
by padfoot's prose
Summary: When Victoire Weasley is lured to a mysterious house, she gets caught up in a fairytale gone horribly wrong. Luckily, Teddy Lupin is there to save the day. Modern Rendition of a Fairytale - based on The Robber Bridegroom by Brothers Grimm. VW/TL
1. Chapter 1

**This is for Super-Zelda-Fanatic's _The Modern Rendition of a Fairytale Competition_ and**** for my _5 Couples, 5 Days Competition_, both on HPFC.**

**The fairytale that I got is 'The Robber Bridegroom', which is a Brothers Grimm Fairytale that I'm not all that familiar with. Hopefully, wikipedia got most of it right.**

**WARNING! The original fairytale is a little bit gruesome, and so chapter 2 of this is definitely T-rated for violent implications.**

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><p><strong>Day 3: TeddyVictoire**

"Just go and meet him," Bill asked beseechingly, holding out a piece of paper with a name and address scribbled on it. "Your mother knows his father from a long time ago. I think it would mean lot to Mr Fox if you'd just introduce yourself to his son."

Victoire stood in the foyer at Shell Cottage, a scarf wrapped around her neck and a warm, luxurious coat draped over her shoulders. Dominique was beside her, shaking her head as the girls' father tried again-

"I know you've heard that Simon Fox is a bit of recluse, but that's all the more reason to pay him a visit. Besides, I assured Mr Fox that you'd be going to see his son."

"Simon Fox is _creepy_, Dad!" Dominique interjected, speaking her sister's mind. "They say he was the one who stole the Fat Lady while he was at Hogwarts. Didn't even break into the Gryffindor Common Room behind, just stole their portrait for no reason at all. He's _weird_."

Bill rolled his eyes. "I thought you'd know better than to believe tales like that."

Dominique blushed, silenced by her father's condescending tone. She looked up at Victoire, meeting her sister's eyes.

"But Victoire doesn't want to go," Dominique offered lamely. "Right, Vic?"

Bill glanced at his eldest daughter, holding her gaze as if daring her to agree. Victoire let out a reluctant sigh, her resolve crumpling at her father's expression.

"Fine, I'll go," she conceded, taking the piece of paper. "But I hope you know that I'm not happy about it!"

Smiling, Bill nodded, opening the door to the frosty evening air. Dominique shivered as a gust of wind blew inside, ducking behind her father to shield herself from the cold.

"Have fun with creepy Simon!" Dominique called out, earning a glare from Victoire as she stepped outside.

Bill and Dominique watched Victoire to the end of the garden path, waving goodbye to her and she stepped out the gate, glanced down at the paper in her hand and spun on her heel, Disapparating.

"If she dies it's your fault!" Dominique teased as her father closed the door.

...

Victoire opened her eyes when she came to a stop, the uncomfortable feeling of Apparating fading as she steadied herself. Looking around, she noticed the rickety wooden fence in front of her, with a rusty iron number nailed on the gate. The number matched the one on the paper in her hand, and as Victoire scanned up and down the silent street, she assured herself that, yes, this was the place her father had directed her to.

She stared apprehensively ahead, into the wildly overgrown garden of the apparently deserted block of land. She couldn't see any lights through the trees and shrubs that were packed thickly behind the wooden fence but (checking the paper again), this was definitely the right address. The area certainly fit the description she'd heard of Simon Fox – eccentric, eerie and just a little bit feral.

With a reluctant sigh, she opened the gate, trying not to let her mind wander to the story of the Three Brothers and their lonely journey through the dark woods, only to be met at the end by Death. It was beyond Victoire's comprehension why her father had even wanted her to see Simon Fox but, mustering her courage, she decided he was right. She was being silly letting these fairytales and rumours scare her. Everything would be fine.

Stuffing the paper in her pocket, now resolved to see this obligation through, Victoire strode into the overgrown yard, her pace slowing as she peered through the trees, trying to make out the right direction to go in. Hand still in her pocket, Victoire felt something in there, and paused to pull out a packet of Puffskein seeds. The packet was unopened, and the tiny, sweet-tasting seeds seemed to be begging to be eaten.

Would Simon Fox be serving snacks? It seemed unlikely. So, with a shrug, Victoire pulled open the packet, a small scattering its contents falling to ground, and pulled out a pinch of Puffskein seeds, dropping them into her mouth and smiling as she swallowed. Everything was better with Puffskein seeds around.

Victoire looked back up, licking her lips as she searched for some clue of where to go. The street was still directly behind her, but in the cold, overcast evening, it seemed somehow darker than before. Then she noticed the ashes.

It seemed beyond creepy – possibly entering the realm of morbid – to scatter ashes instead of a garden path. And yet, Victoire moved forward a couple of steps, the grey-white trail snaking across the dark ground was undoubtedly supposed to serve as a guide. Grabbing another pinch of Puffskein seeds, Victoire ventured forwards, glad she'd worn boots as she continued through the ankle-high grass, twigs and leaves brushing against her jacket and catching on her scarf.

The trail of ashes continued all the way to the rotting wooden door of a small house. Through a grimy window, Victoire could see a candle flickering inside. She knocked on the door, hoping that no one would answer.

"I'll just be a second!"

The words were surprisingly casual for such an unusual setting, and once again Victoire internally reprimanded herself for being so paranoid. She stuffed the packet of Puffskein seeds back into her pocket and drew her coat more tightly around herself, hoping to look as if she hadn't just trekked through a miniature forest to reach this house.

"Hey-" the door flew open, the person behind it stopping their greeting halfway through as they gaped at her.

"Victoire?"

Victoire stared back at the man in the doorway.

His hair, usually turquoise, was a dull, grubby brown, his bright eyes sunken and his jaw wider and brow more prominent than usual. But, none of that mattered, because she'd recognise that voice anywhere.

"Teddy?"


	2. Chapter 2

**This whole story is un-beta-ed, so I apologise for any mistakes!**

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><p><em>Victoire stared back at the man in the doorway.<em>

_His hair, usually turquoise, was a dull, grubby brown, his bright eyes sunken and his jaw wider and brow more prominent than usual. But, none of that mattered, because she'd recognise that voice anywhere._

"_Teddy?"_

A panicked look shot over Teddy's face, making his eyes flash lighter for a second as he lost control of his disguise, and he grabbed her hand and pulled her into the house, shutting the door behind her. Silently, he pulled her past a low desk carrying a small collection of knives and the candle she'd seen flickering from outside. They ducked under a low doorway and entered what seemed to be the main room of the house.

Most of the space was taken up by a large, square table, upon which sat a few stubs of candles, not yet lit. Along one wall there was a greasy couch with dark stains across its brown cushions that made bile rise in Victoire's throat, and a dormant fireplace was sunk into another. A single corner of the room, the corner nearest to doorway, was separated from the rest of room by a tall bench. It was behind this bench that Teddy pulled Victoire, pushing her down onto the ground so she'd be out of sight.

"Stay there, and stay quiet!" Teddy ordered her. "No matter what happens, I'll protect you."

Victoire shifted so that she could sit properly on the filthy ground, turning her eyes angrily up to Teddy once she's settled more comfortably.

"What is going on?" she hissed

Teddy shot her a terrified glance before crouching down again to speak, his mouth close to her cheek as he quickly explained-

"This place belongs to Simon Fox-"

"I _know_ who it belongs to-"

"-shut up, Victoire!"

Shocked at his ferocity, Victoire fell silent.

Teddy sighed, leaning back a bit so he could see her face. Even in the dim light, she could make out his unfamiliar, dark eyes and scared expression, and something about the look made her scared too.

Teddy Lupin was _never _scared. She'd seen him cry at his grandmother's funeral, held his hand through that first terrifying introduction to her father, felt him shudder as his heart shattered when he told her they were beaking up. But never before had she seen this look in his eyes.

"Sorry," he apologised, closing his eyes as he breathed in deeply. "I'm just- You shouldn't be here, Victoire."

"I've been beginning to think that myself."

He chuckled reluctantly at the words, licking his lips as he glanced nervously around the side of the bench.

"We don't have much time, because Simon's due home any time now, so I'll try to be quick. Simon Fox is a Death Eater. He and his little band of friends have been gathering, trying to take revenge on all the people who were against Voldemort at the end. The Longbottoms, the Malfoys, the Finnigans, the Scamanders – they're all on the list. But you, the Weasleys and Potters, you're at the top of it.

"They've been Imperiusing people in high places, trying to get one of you into this house to hold as a ransom. They're planning on torturing you, sending you back to your family piece by piece, until Harry agrees to come here and let them kill him themselves."

Victoire's head whirled as she tried to take all of this in.

It couldn't be happening, surely it couldn't be. She'd heard her father and mother and aunts and uncles talk about the war – the mysterious deaths and disappearances, the danger lurking at every corner, the way you couldn't trust anyone, even your friends – but the war was over, it had been won.

Unless...

Now that she thought of it, Victoire realised that things had been different lately. Her cousins hadn't come to visit for Christmas like they did every year. Louis and Dominique had been locked inside all winter, despite having been hurried home from Hogwarts by Ministry cars the moment term had ended.

But no one had thought to protect her from it all. Her parents had thought that she, the eldest, the most mature, would be able to look after herself. Clearly, they'd been wrong.

"Why do they want to kill Harry?" Victoire finally asked, trying not to let her voice shake.

"They think he's the key to bringing Voldemort back," Teddy said dismissively. "They're crazy, of course, but the Ministry hasn't been able to charge them for it yet, because we had no proof. That's why I'm here."

"Right. Because you finished your Auror training this year..." Victoire broke off, looking away suddenly.

Last year was when Teddy had started disappearing at all hours of the night, so caught up in working that he forgot about his girlfriend. Last year was when she'd yelled at him through the fireplace after he missed their third date in a row, and he'd screamed angrily back, both of them regretting their words the moment the fire went out. Last year was when, as they stood on Platform Nine and Three Quarters, the place where their relationship had started with such promise, it had ended.

"Congratulations," Victoire volunteered pathetically. "On becoming an Auror. I guess it was all worth it."

Teddy looked like he was about to speak, but when cut off by the sound of a door banging open. He quickly straightened, his foot nudging Victoire further into the corner as he shot her one more lingering glance.

Footsteps shook the floor, and Victoire tried to count the number of people entering the room by the sound they made as the stepped past her hiding spot. One, two, three, four, five, six... they were outnumbered then, three to one.

"Anyone come by today?" a voice growled.

Victoire started when Teddy replied, "No, master. No one."

Of course, that explained the disguise. They thought he was one of them.

"Hmm."

"Does it matter, Fox?" another voice asked, this one belonging to a woman. "One of the Weasley scum is bound to be careless eventually. They can't keep their children hidden from us forever. And now that your father is under our control..." her announcement ended with a cackle that made a Victoire tremble as a chill wracked through her.

"Yes," the first voice, Fox, answered. "It shouldn't take long before we succeed. But until then-"

More laughter accompanied the sound of something heavy being dragged into the room, and Victoire heard a whimper as whatever it was passed her by.

"This little Muggle wandered a bit too far from home tonight," Fox teased, excitement clear in his tone. "And now she'll never. Go. Home."

More jeers erupted and Victoire closed her eyes and covered her ears, desperate to block out whatever horrible scene was taking place at that table. Still, the high-pitched yells of the Muggle girl were impossible to ignore, and without meaning to Victoire grasped Teddy's leg, sobbing silently into the grubby hem of his robes and feeling him shudder as he watched the violence unfold.

In the confusion, Teddy watched as candles were knocked from the table, clunking onto the floor and emitting little clouds of dust where they fell. Coins fell from pockets as the Death Eaters eagerly fumbled for their wands, taking turns to torture the girl and sneering at her pitiful screams.

Somehow, as excitement took hold of the crowd and hands, nails and teeth became more useful than magic, one of the Death Eaters wands was thrown from the crowd and clattered onto the floor behind Teddy's bench. The sound rung out loudly through the room, making the group stop for a moment, staring at Teddy for an explanation.

"Fetch that for me!" Fox ordered one of his followers, making cries of protest erupt into the room as the crowd started arguing among themselves over who should get the wand.

"No complaining!" Fox bellowed, his voice silencing the rest. "You do as I say, or you-"

"You could leave it," Teddy suggested. "You surely don't need a wand to finish off a mere Muggle?"

His taunt elicited an angry growl from Fox, and for a second Victoire thought Teddy had gone too far and would be killed for his insolence. But then-

"He's right!"

And the horrible jeers and growls started again. Victoire tried not to notice that, this time, no screaming could be heard.


	3. Chapter 3

**And the story continues...**

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><p>Victoire didn't know how long she waited, crouched under the bench, hoping that each new second wouldn't bring about her death. Her ankles and knees were aching and cramped by the time Teddy finally looked down at her, motioning for her to her stand. Keeping her eyes to the floor, unable to look anywhere near the horrible table, Victoire followed Teddy out of the room, noticing in the corner of her eye that a fire was now burning hungrily in the previously empty grate. So that's where the ashes had come from.<p>

No moonlight reached the doorway of the house as the pair stumbled outside. The hours that had flown by while Victoire waited in hiding meant it was pitch black under the shadowy trees of the garden.

"How do we find our way out?" she whispered, moving to stand by Teddy's side and glancing up at him.

As she spoke, his features were slowly changing back to normal, the sunken eyes moving forward a little and the brow flattening as his turquoise fringe flopped onto his forehead. When his eyes turned to hers, they were their usual hazel again, but still weren't free from that look of terror as he said, "I don't know."

Despite all the careful boundaries she'd drawn last year, Victoire couldn't help reaching out for Teddy's hand, holding it tightly in hers. His expression softened a little at the gesture, but the fear still hadn't budged from his eyes.

Desperately, Victoire looked around, stepping forward hesitantly and scanning the ground for any remnants of the ashes from before. But the cold night wind had blown them away, leaving no trace of the morbid, ghostly path from before. Then, just ahead, she noticed something impossible. A small, pink ball of fuzz had sprouted from the ground, surrounded by other tiny flowers.

Moving over to the plants, Victoire stood above them and looked around, catching sight of another small group of seedlings a little way off.

"Of course," she murmured, making Teddy look at her. "Puffskein seeds."

And, wordlessly, she pulled the packet from her coat pocket to hold it up.

Teddy sighed, pulling her close in a rough hug and resting his head on top of hers, pressing a kiss to her hair.

"You are brilliant, Victoire Weasley," he whispered. "I knew I loved you for a reason."

Letting Teddy's hands linger on her waist for just a moment more, Victoire pulled away, hoping to avoid any awkwardness by focussing on the task at hand. Teddy coughed slightly as she pulled her hand from his, but fell back behind her as she slowly retraced her path, following the trail of Puffskein seedlings all the way to the rickety fence and front gate with its rusty number.

The two let themselves out of the yard, exchanging a glance as they silently grasped hands and spun on the spot, Apparating away into the night.

...

"Dad!" Victoire's cry startled the small crowd gathered outside Shell Cottage, and many exclamations of relief rung out as she pushed open the gate and ran into her father's arms, feeling two thumps as Dominique and Louis joined in the hug.

"Victoire!" her mother's voice made Victoire pull away and bury herself instead in Fleur's arms, breathing in the safe, wonderful scent of home as she felt a cascade of hands pat her on the back, sighs sounding from the family members mulling around.

It was almost an hour later, sitting in the small living room, that Victoire finished relaying her story, Teddy standing by her side to help fill in the blanks.

"What happened to the girl?" Ron had asked as Teddy told that part of the tale, but Teddy had simply shaken his head, eyes darting to Dominque and Louis and fingers reaching out to gently, comfortingly touch Victoire's clenched fist.

A look was exchange between Harry and Teddy in the story's silent wake and, with a sigh, the former stood, reaching out a hand to squeeze Victoire's shoulder as he said, "You were incredibly brave, Victoire. You should be proud. But let us handle this from here."

Victoire nodded, glancing up at Teddy as Harry turned to him.

"Did you get the wand?" Harry asked, and to Victoire's shock, Teddy pulled a chipped, stocky piece of wood from his pocket, holding it out. It was the wand from before, the one that had been tossed over to the bench in the fray.

"Well done. We can use this to see what Fox's been doing. Hopefully we'll be able to prove Fox Senior was Imperiused."

Teddy nodded as Harry turned to face Ron.

"I need to get this to Kingsley as soon as we can. If Teddy's Sleeping Draught was right," -he shot a small grin at his godson- "which I'm doubtful about, we'll have another hour or so until they wake up. I'd like to get there in half that time."

Ron nodded, standing and pressing a kiss to Hermione's cheek. "Go back and watch the kids," he told her. I'll be home before morning."

She nodded.

Harry and Ginny's eyes met across the room and she gave him a small smile and a nod, understanding without words that he needed her to do the same as Hermione.

Teddy turned to Victoire, trying to ignore the eyes of the rest of family on his back.

"Promise me you'll stay here, Vic," he said, meeting her eyes.

"Okay."

"And don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

"I know that."

"I'll see you soon?"

This final comment came out as a question, and for a moment, the solemn, formal facade was dropped and the bright Teddy Lupin eyes that Victoire had fallen in love with all those years ago were back, staring straight into hers.

"Yes," she murmured, her pulse speeding as his fingertips touched her wrist lightly. "Soon."

And, with that, he, Harry and Ron left, hurrying out into the cold, windy night.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks so much to everyone whose read this! Don't forget to review on your way out!**

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><p>Three days later, the family re-grouped on a sunny winter's morning. They met in the golden foyer at the Ministry of Magic and shared a lift down to one of the trial rooms, filing in and shooting looks of disgust at the group chained to the chairs in the room's centre.<p>

The details of the trial weren't for the faint-hearted, and it was only with Teddy's hand clutched in hers that Victoire managed to sit the whole thing out. He stayed silently by her side the whole time, only leaving when he stood to give evidence against Fox, extracting the wand from his pocket and presenting it to the judge.

Nothing more was required from Teddy, the spells issuing from the wand after _Prior Incantato_ had been muttered proving its owner's guilt. The others in the Death Eater group hissed threats and Fox yelled out "She dreamed it! She's making it up!" to the jury as they voted unanimously for an immediate removal to Azkaban for life imprisonment.

Indeed, nothing particularly unexpected happened until much later that day, as the Potter-Weasley clan gathered at the Burrow, the youngsters flamboyantly expressing their delight at finally being allowed outside again with an unruly game of Qudditch, only encouraged by George's eager cooperation. Victoire noticed Teddy slip inside the house and, excusing herself from her place beside her father, who still hadn't finished apologising and professing his absolute guilt and responsibility for the whole situation, followed him inside.

She silently traced the hem of his robes as it swished around corners and up staircases until she finally found herself at the doorway of her aunt Ginny's old bedroom, long-deserted, and now empty except for the bed in the corner, stripped of the Holyhead Harpies sheets and doona that had last adorned it. Inside, Teddy stood by the window, looking out onto the meadow where the others were playing on their brooms, their laughter audible from even this distance.

"You remember playing with them?" Victoire asked, moving into the room and stopping by Teddy's side, watching him rather than looking out the window.

"Yeah, I do," he admitted with a smile. "I felt so old back then – playing with them all, talking about the day they'd join us at Hogwarts."

Victoire laughed. "I remember that. We used to think we were so mature because we were in sixth and seventh year and James and Louis were only just starting."

"Merlin, that was a long time ago," Teddy murmured, turning away to lean his back against the wall and meet Victoire's eyes. "Do you remember what you were like back then? This smart, beautiful, talented, incredible girl – so far out of my reach that I didn't even bother trying."

Victoire raised her eyebrows accusingly. "Are you saying I'm not those things anymore?"

Teddy shook his head, grinning at her expression. "No, you're still all those things. More than before, if anything. The difference is that now you're a smart, talented, incredible girl who is so far out of my reach, who I _had_, and yet managed to screw things up with."

"Yeah, you did a pretty good job at screwing them up," Victoire agreed, moving a little closer to Teddy. "And you forgot beautiful."

"Wha'?" Teddy seemed to be becoming incoherent, his eyes glazed over as she took another step closer, her body an inch away from his, trapping him between her and the wall.

"I'm smart, talented, incredible, way out of your league, and _beautiful_. You can't expect a girl to forgive you if you forget to call her beautiful."

Teddy blinked at the word 'forgive', his gaze suddenly shifting into intense focus as he straightened, standing over Victoire to look down into her wide, blue eyes.

"You'd forgive me?"

She bit her lip, pretending to think.

"Maybe – if you play your cards right. Rescuing me from a murderous crowd of Death Eaters certainly helped."

Teddy half-smiled, reaching out to touch Victoire's hand and running his fingertips over her wrist as he pulled her closer, closing the distance between their bodies. Like always, the feel of his fingers, so soft, so careful, as if she were made of the most precious crystal and just one wrong move would break her, made Victoire's heart pound in her chest.

"You're beautiful," he whispered as his face lowered towards hers. "Always have been, always will be. Utterly beautiful."

Grinning widely, Victoire rocked up on her toes and kissed him hard on the lips, unable to ignore the feeling of _rightness_ that soared through her as his lips pressed back against hers. One of her arms trailed up to curl around Teddy's neck, securing him against her. She felt him whisper "I love you" against her lips as he lifted a hand to trace along her arm, over her shoulder, up her neck, and into her silvery hair.

By their sides, their other hands wound together, fingers locking each other in place. Hopefully, this time, for good.


End file.
